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The
2018 Getting to Zero Status Update and Buildings List
Reports a 700% Increase in ZE Projects Since 2012
The recently released Getting to Zero Status Update and Zero Energy Buildings List, which summarizes the growth and trends from nearly 500 certified, verified and emerging zero energy projects across the United States and Canada is
now available for download
. The 2018 list reflects a steep curve upward with our count increasing over 700% in six years, with private sector investment now representing nearly half of all buildings on the list. ZE buildings are ultra-low energy buildings that consume only as much energy as is produced through renewable generation resources.
Read more
Register for the webinar
Nothing Beats Zero - Updates on the Trends and Projects that are Getting to Zero Energy
Cathy Higgins
Research Director
New Buildings Institute |
John Andary
Principal
Integral |
NBI Research Director
Cathy Higgins will present zero energy trends and a snapshot of zero energy policy progress. John Andary from Integral will offer his perspective on ZE as a panelist for this presentation.
Tuesday, March 6
10 am PST/ 1 pm EST
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Model Stretch Code Provisions Represent a 20% Performance Improvement over Current National Codes
 With increasing pressure to deliver on energy and climate action goals, cities and states are turning to more stringent building energy codes as an effective strategy to increase building energy efficiency and accelerate progress on outcomes. To help local jurisdictions advance, NBI has released a set of model stretch building code strategies that target 20% better efficiency than current national building energy codes. The new 20% Stretch Code Provisions offer jurisdictions a set of energy-saving building strategies that cover design aspects such as envelope, mechanical, water heating, lighting and plug loads. These provisions can be adopted over the course of several code development cycles, allowing the market to prepare for, and gain experience with, new efficiency practices and technologies. Cities and states can choose to adopt the entire stretch code measure set, or parts of it through their existing code review process.
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Remembering NBI Board Member George Malek
 We were deeply saddened by the passing of George Malek, Director of Energy Efficiency Services at Commonwealth Edison (ComEd). George had managed the implementation of ComEd's Energy Efficiency Program
since 2008 and worked for the company for more than 20 years. He was also a long-time Board Member at NBI and played a vital role in moving the organization to a position of greater industry leadership.
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Program for the Getting to Zero National Forum is Available
The Forum is just weeks away! From districts, to deep energy retrofits, to zero energy and carbon, the Getting to Zero National Forum will bring together experts on these topics. The
program is available and
registration is open. We anticipate a full house for a jam-packed three days
of tours, workshops, networking opportunities, interactive sessions, and thought leadership.
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20th Anniversary Celebrations Continue
During this anniversary year, we are tapping our partners in the energy efficiency market to help us tell the story of NBI's impact.
In a recent post, Nancy Jenkins Ander, P.E., Deputy Director, Office of Sustainability, Department of General Services, reflects on the influential research that helped discover the advantages of daylighting in schools, offices, and retail. Read Blog
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NBI and the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) have released new guidance for cities that puts  outcomes-based energy codes first in the process of significantly reducing a city's energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, Implementing an Outcome-Based
Compliance
Path in Energy Codes: Guidance for Cities. Current energy codes in the United States have a limited impact on overall energy use because they apply only to new construction, major renovations, regulated loads, and permanent building features. Outcome-based requirements establish a target energy use level and measure and report actual energy use in relation to that target once the building is being operated. Such an outcome-based approach provides flexibility to the design team while assuring that the intent of the energy code is being met.
As part of NBI's 20th Anniversary, Ryan Colker, Vice President at NIBS, was invited to share his thoughts on NBI's impact on the built environment. His contribution to the NBI story,
Outcomes Matter, discusses the work Ryan has done with NBI staff on advancing outcome-based codes.
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NBI worked with the the California Public Utilities Commission on behalf of the State of California to provide an update on the current status of ZE retrofits in schools in California and recommendations to key market actors on steps they can take to accelerate public schools on the path to ZE. The report includes two primary components including a market characterization, and a technical sensitivity analysis. The market characterization examines the existing K-14 building stock, as well as the stakeholders, decision-making process and funding involved in school retrofits in California. The sensitivity analysis uses energy modeling to determine the relative magnitude
of the impacts of various building factors that contribute to energy use in schools, including physical building characteristics, operational practices and occupant schedules.
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2017 ZNE School Leadership Award Winners with NBI Staff.
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In November, six exemplary individuals, design teams, and school districts were honored with
ZNE Schools Leadership Awards
for their innovation and leadership in driving a new ZNE standard for school environments. ZNE buildings represent high performance buildings that combine energy efficiency and renewable resources to produce at least as much energy as they consume annually, and California is leading the nation in the transformation of K-12 and community colleges to ZNE performance with over 40 ultra-low and ZNE schools operating or planned.
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ZE Residential Leads, NBI Enters Partnership with RESNET on Residential Certification
Zero energy buildings are appearing in every sector, led by residential buildings. The Net Zero Energy Coalition (NZEC) published its 2016 Zero Energy Inventory of housing projects in June of 2017. More than 8,000 housing units were identified across the United States and Canada--33% more than the previous year. The number of projects increased even more--by 82%. Both numbers are clear market indicators that momentum is steadily building in residential ZE. Given the increasing number and power of market and policy drivers pushing for more ZE homes, this strong level of growth is likely to continue.
NBI + RESNET
NBI is teaming up with RESNET to launch a ZE certification for new single-family homes in order to achieve mass-market scale by leveraging RESNET's widely known and trusted rating systems and protocols, including Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index. The HERS Index is an asset rating that measures a home's energy efficiency performance. It is a nationally-recognized standard for inspecting, testing, and rating of key aspects influencing energy use. There are more than two million HERS-rated homes and about 2,000 certified HERS raters in the United States. Stay tuned for more on this certification program in mid-2018.
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Twenty Five Years of Passive House,
a Tipping Point
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Eric Makela Joins NBI's Codes and Policy Team
We are pleased to announce the addition of Eric Makela to our Codes and Policy team. He brings over 30 years of global expertise in energy code development, training and evaluation, throughout the United States as well as abroad, including Abu Dhabi, Fiji, and Bahrain. Read more about Eric Makela |
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Where we'll be; meet with NBI staff
Ralph DiNola
A Systems Approach to Energy Efficiency: Calling for New Policy Pathways?
Wednesday, March 7, 2:20 PM
Mark Lyles
Stretch Codes: Why this policy offers the best hope for rapid transformation to meet state and local climate goals
Thursday, March 8, 3:30 PM
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